2016 SASS 4E EL MYE P1 SectC w Ans

SASS MYE 2016 4E5N Paper 1 Sample Essays 1. Describe a precious memory that matters most to you and explain why you will always cherish it. Each time I hear the word ‘precious’, the sequence of events on that glorious day – 24th November 2012 – immediately rushes to the front of my mind. It was a dreaded day for most of my friends – including me, initially of course – before the life-changing string of events transpired. We were collecting our life-defining Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results on that day. The day before, I could really feel all the butterflies in my stomach fluttering in all directions. “This can only go two ways: I could fall on my knees at the sight of my results and look up to God with despondence;” I calmed myself before going to bed, “or I could jump up in the air with relief and ecstasy.” To prepare for PSLE, I had done everything imaginable: burning the midnight oil for revision; attending an avalanche of tuition classes; and sacrificing watching my beloved Chelsea battle for the premiership title on TV. The latter was actually an act I would classify as “against the law” – my law on being faithful to my passion. On the day itself, I put on my one-size-too-small and battle scarred school uniform for one last time. To be honest, I felt like a war veteran, just that I had yet to find out if I had won the all-important war. After saying my final prayer, my parents – no less worried than I – accompanied me to school. In school, my classmates and I were too nervous to speak and we just sat on the floor, eagerly awaiting the release of our results. Some of us were shivering; others were forcing a smile or two unsuccessfully. Ironically, we resembled a firing line waiting to be shot dead by our form teacher. The impending judgment minutes came. We got up, struggling as our jelly-legs could not quite measure up to the immensity of the daunting situation. One by one my classmates drooped and slouched after receiving their results. I could only hear my heart beating like a gigantic drum as my body temperature surged to 1000 degrees or so. The next thing I knew was my mother frantically chasing after me with my result slip in her hands as I was too dazed to look at my results. Strangely, I saw her taking something out of her pocket. Feeling agitated as the suspense was crumbling me, somehow her widest grin had the power to exterminate my anxiety and stress straightaway. The words that emanated from her mouth were laced with honey: “Son, congrats! It’s straight A’s!” I immediately got down on my knees and thanked God. All the excruciating hard work for the gruelling examination had been well rewarded. What came next was a total shocker. Mother handed me two tickets – an airplane ticket for a trip to London and an FA Cup Final match ticket starring Chelsea! I was so deliriously over the moon but fortunately I did not suffocate my mother with my hugest hug. Well, I never knew breaking the law could reap such great rewards. (506 words) Written by: Peranjoot (4S2, 2016) Edited by Mr Liang Sea Fong

2. ‘Much can be learnt from watching movies.’ What are your views? “The way I see it, you can run from the past or you can face up to it,” Mandrill dishes out this sage wisdom to Simba in the Disney classic ‘The Lion King’. Many people dismiss movies as merely ostentatious drivel designed to please the eye. After all, what good could possibly come of observing fictional characters caper across hypothetical landscapes on missions so surreal they make modern art look like a textbook encyclopaedia? However, avid cinema aficionados advocate that movies often impart invaluable lessons or values like the one from Mandrill. Firstly, it is possible to learn from a movie via the ideas it presents and the morals it bestows. Male audiences across the globe gasped in horror as Darth Vader was revealed to be Luke Skywalker’s father in ‘Star Wars’; thousands of children shared Simba’s tears as Mufasa was sent hurtling to his death in ‘The Lion King’; and millions of ladies felt the wrenching pain of their hearts sinking with Jack and Rose in ‘Titanic’. These fictional characters are but figments of their writers’ imagination; however, the emotions they evoke, the ideologies they represent, the plethora of observations, beliefs and interpretations that they comprise all come alive via the reel world. Audiences get sucked into their world and be enthralled in the wide spectrum of rich learning journeys of life that are otherwise not obtainable in the humdrum of daily life. Next, the idealism portrayed in many movies can inspire audiences to pursue excellence. Critics often feel offended by the shining examples of excellence portrayed in the multitude of environments and characters and say they cannot be replicated in real life. However, I feel that these critics are being narrow minded. ‘Rocky’ is not about being a muscular, good-looking and perfect boxer. It is about striving to be the best at what you can do. ‘Captain America’ is not about dressing up in cosplay to beat up some bad guys; it is about never giving up, regardless of the circumstances. As such, if we are open minded, we can sieve out such gems of knowledge from the visual feast on the big screen. Lastly, movies teach us to empathise with someone. With all tangential personas, backgrounds, tastes and philosophies present in two different beings, we cannot really expect one person to actually be able to comprehend how the cogs turn in the other person’s mind. With movies, such windows of opportunity exist as we get to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes – via the good old camera tricks of seeing things from the character’s point of view. In ‘Schindler’s List’, we get into the Liam Neeson’s noble character’s head as he makes decisions to save the Jews from the approaching Nazis. Hence watching such a film teaches us to have a broader view on life and a greater acceptance of our fellow man. To conclude, movies are giving us answers to all the questions life asks of us. We just need to open our eyes, listen, feel and learn. Get ready the popcorn. (507 words) Written by: Nigel Tay (4S2, 2016) Edited by: Mr Liang Sea Fong

3. ‘Life today is more stressful than before.’ Write about some occasions when you have found this to be true. The 21st century has seen a rapid rise in technological developments that have made the world shrink and people busier than ever. Today, we have immigrants moving into global cities like Singapore in large numbers and this adds to the stress of living in this tiny red dot. “Boy, we have to go now! It’s 7.05! ” My mother’s scream pierced through the door. Clenching a piece of bread between my teeth, I bolted out of the house to meet my awaiting parents who kept tapping on their watches. This is an every morning scene in my home, in the never-ending race to reach school before the traffic builds up to a crawl just outside on the main road. For me, it is a constant battle to wake up on time after burning the midnight oil to complete all my homework. For my parents, it is a battle for them to ensure they are not caught in the traffic jam that would render them late for work. “Boy, put down the phone!” commanded my father as he came home one night. “We need to talk…” Luckily it was not something as serious as I thought. But it struck me that the fast-paced society that we live in now has contributed to an increase in stress. The ubiquitous smart phones have been engineered to almost perfection. Such rapid developments brought us more stress – we become more withdrawn from the crowd. During the peak hour at a typical train interchange, we can see waves of people rushing up and down the groaning escalators, rushing to squeeze into the trains that wheeze by every two minutes – nothing more, nothing less. Everyone will be staring down at their mobi